


Agony Aunt

by nanuk_dain



Series: Drift Compatible [36]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Angst, Friendship, M/M, Male-Female Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-09-23
Packaged: 2018-04-23 02:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4859252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/pseuds/nanuk_dain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mako takes care of Chuck, Raleigh and their utter mess of hurt feelings and misunderstandings. It's quite a challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Agony Aunt

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place parallel to "In a Perfect World..."

_Hong Kong Shatterdome, 18th January 2025_

 

"...three..."

Mako watches Hansen-san close his eyes, and she's amazed how, now that she herself has drifted with somebody, she knows exactly what he's doing. How he's synchronising his breathing with Sensei, how he clears his mind so that it's free for the neural handshake, how he concentrates only on his drift partner. 

"...two..."

It's something she never quite understood before. Sure, she knew in theory what pilots did before engaging in the neural handshake, she had read all about it. But it's different now because she can feel it instead of just hearing the recounts of other people's experiences in her mind. She has her own memories to draw from.

"...one..."

It's in moments like this that she misses drifting with a vigour that nearly overwhelms her. She never really realised how truly lonely she was before she drifted with Raleigh. She likes being alone, don't get her wrong, but there's a huge difference between being alone and being lonely. Mako knows she's not very outgoing, and her devotion to her work takes priority over her private life. It always did, especially after Tokyo. Even as a child she knew on some fundamental level that Sensei cared for her and would always be there for her, but they both weren't the type for physical closeness. Only Tamsin-san ever managed to just wipe away all of Mako's deeply ingrained reserved behaviour by just engulfing her in a heartfelt hug or tickle her or just being close. It was Tamsin-san's nature to be physical, it came as easily to her as breathing, and she never let Mako's shyness get in the way of some heartfelt physical affection. 

Little Mako had loved it. It was a warmth and a kind of comfort that she missed terribly since her parents' death. Especially her mother's little caresses and warm smiles and comfortable hugs were something she craved with an almost painful longing. Tamsin-san gave her some of it, and it made her feel at home again. It was one of the reasons why Tamsin-san's death hit her so hard. 

Drifting with Raleigh had brought a kind of different closeness. It wasn't physical as much as mental, but no less comforting and warm and intense. To drift with somebody as sincere and caring as Raleigh is like feeling engulfed in a loving embrace. It's why they got along so well after that first drift, because somehow they both cared profoundly about each other and sharing their minds and memories had brought them close in a way Mako has never been with anybody else. Seeing, no, experiencing Yancy's death with Raleigh's agony tingeing the memory was so overwhelming that it caused her to chase the rabbit, but it also made her understand him in a way that words never could have achieved. She feels that it's true the other way round, too. Raleigh living through the worst day of her life with her is, in a strange way, a relief. As if there's finally somebody who really understands her. 

"He's in. Neural handshake strong and holding." Dr Geizler's words interrupt Mako's thoughts and make her return to the present. She notices that she's been staring at Hansen-san who is now lying perfectly still on the bed, his expression relaxed. She wonders where he is right now, what he's seeing. Her gaze wanders to Sensei who looks just as peaceful. What world might Sensei be in right now? Is he dreaming? She tries to imagine what he would dream about, but she finds it difficult to say. 

"Do you have any idea how long the drift will last?" Mako asks nobody in particular.

"That is impossible to say." Dr Lightcap replies while checking some data on one of the screens. Mako can see a diagram of two sets of brainwaves. "Chuck's drift with Becket was rather short with some forty odd minutes, but I'm not sure we can take that as a reference since the situation was different due to Yancy controlling the drift."

"We'll monitor them, but in the end it's not us who'll end the drift." Dr Geizler is also looking at some screens, but he's on the opposite side of the machine so Mako can't see what they show. "As we've said before, it's too risky to interrupt the drift from the outside. We'll wait for Hansen to come out of it on his own."

"There's nothing we can do but wait and observe, Ranger Mori." Dr Lightcap says and smiles reassuringly. "We'll keep you updated. If anything happens, you'll be the first to know."

Mako gives a little bow and returns the smile before she leaves. She has known Dr Lightcap since she first came to live with Sensei, and she has always liked her. She has utter confidence in Dr Lightcap's skills, and there is nothing Mako can do for Hansen-san right now. He's in good hands, and so is Sensei. Now it's time to find Chuck to make sure he's not on a dangerous downward spiral.

As soon as Mako is out of the lab, she writes a quick note to Tendo-san to let him know that he can contact her if anything comes up, but she'll need some time to deal with a difficult situation between two Rangers. He probably knows already what she's referring to. Mako is always amazed at how quickly news travel in the Shatterdome, and Tendo-san always seems to be the first one to know. His networking skills are indeed impressive, which is one of the reasons why he's the best LOCCENT officer she knows. When she first set foot in a mission control centre as a child, Sensei explained to her that LOCCENT needs to see and know everything in order to make the right decisions. Tendo-san certainly fulfils that requirement.

Tendo-san replies quickly and lets her know that things are going smoothly at the moment, and that she should take all the time it takes to sort out those Ranger problems. Mako decides to check the med bay first. If Chuck is okay, then she'll find him there with Raleigh, and things might not be as bad as they seem. She doesn't expect that to be the case, though.

True to her inkling, Chuck is not in the med bay. Mako peeks into Raleigh's room and finds him asleep in his bed. He has curled up under the blankets in a way that makes him look vulnerable, lost and hurt. Although all the tubes she remembers are gone, he looks worse than he did back then. He's clearly not okay, and Mako has to fight the urge to go in and comfort him, just letting him know that he's not alone. She still feels protective of him, as she did ever since their first drift, but she knows there's nothing she can say to make things better, especially not before she has spoken to Chuck to find out what's actually going on. She needs answers before she can be of any help to either of them, so Mako makes sure to close the door silently as to not disturb Raleigh's not so peaceful sleep.

Since Chuck is not with Raleigh, he's either in the quarters he shares with his father or in the kwoon. Mako knows that if there were any Jaegers left, Chuck would be in the Jaeger bay tinkering with them, doing some repair work or just straight up maintenance. It has the same calming effect on him as on Mako, being with a Jaeger, feeling its wires, plates and circuits, working on its insides. She misses it with a fierce intensity, especially when she's restless, stressed or upset. She can't wait for the new models to come out, although she knows that they're month away from the stage where she can actually tinker with anything.

Since there are no Jaegers left, though, Chuck will take to the kwoon. They may not have spent much time together in the past few years, but Mako still knows Chuck. He's hurt, and he's probably angry, so she's sure that he's not in his quarters. Chuck gets restless when he's upset, so he'll try to burn that energy, and the only place to do that right now is the kwoon. He's not the type to silently sit in his room and mope, no, he'll rather attack anyone and anything that moves. Mako hopes he hasn't aggravated his injuries in the course. 

Mako checks if her assumption is correct - one quick look and she's sure that Chuck is indeed in the kwoon. He's on the mats, going through a set of the fifty-two positions of the Jaeger Bushido, and Mako is secretly relieved that he hasn't provoked anybody into a brawl yet. She knows she can't just go in and ask him what's up, he'll never reply. He'll only clam up, and that's something she definitely needs to avoid. For a moment Mako stands in the hallway in front of the kwoon and thinks about how she can get to him best, then she turns on her heel and hurries to her quarters.

Mako quickly and efficiently puts on her training gear and her shoes and grabs a bottle of water before she heads back to the kwoon. She'll engage Chuck, because that's what he wants right now, he needs to blow off some steam and she's a good partner for that. On top of that, she can make sure that he doesn't hurt himself too much while burning off his anger and hurt. She knows he wants the physical pain right now, but she'll keep him from overdoing it.

Mako finds that she's actually looking forward to a good, exhausting training session, something to clear her mind and get rid of the stress of the past week. Forget the press, forget the UN, forget that Sensei is still in coma. Just live in the moment and concentrate on the burning of her muscles. She didn't have much time for training since the double event, too many other things had absolute priority. Maybe she can even do Chuck _and_ herself some good with this.

The kwoon isn't very busy, just like Mako expected. It's about an hour before the mess hall opens for dinner and apart from regular training sessions, nobody uses it at this time of the day. Chuck is still on the mats, and Mako watches him finish a sequence of movements while she takes off her boots and places them neatly them under a bench. His every motion is precise and perfectly timed, the flow elegant and beautiful to watch. She can't help noticing that Chuck is favouring his right arm, though. Not that Mako is surprised, the burns have to hurt badly. There's a fresh-looking bandage covering his arm, the bright white a stark contrast to his flushed face. He must have been at it for quite a while to work up that colour. 

Mako grabs two hanbōs on her way to the mats and throws one to Chuck when she's almost in front of him. True to his training his reflexes are excellent and he catches the stick without a problem, just like Mako knew he would. He looks surprised for about two seconds, then he gives her a grin and takes up position with is right hand securely behind his back. Mako smirks, of course he's going to play fair considering that she can't use her left arm that's still in a sling. Neither of them will use their injured limbs in this fight, then. 

Chuck doesn't hold back. He's attacking as soon as Mako has assumed the basic stance, and she evades with the ease of years of practice. They're in a fast and aggressive fight within seconds, and Mako enjoys it immensely. It's been a while since she fought one-handed, but she is glad to find that her muscle memory returns quickly. She manages to score the first point with a hit that she stops right before it impacts with Chuck's exposed right side.

She smirks and return to the her side of the mats. "One-zero."

Chuck grumbles and takes his position on the opposite end. This time it's Mako who attacks first, and Chuck blocks her blows before going on the offensive. They've sparred together before, many times, in fact, and they both know each other's strengths and weaknesses. Mako finds that it makes the whole fight even more interesting, because they have to make a much bigger effort to score than when fighting a stranger. Within minutes Mako feels the sweat running down her back, and she takes profound pleasure in the way her muscles burn. Chuck scores once, then she manages to get him again. 

She wonders briefly what it's like to fight with your perfect match, how incredible it must feel to be so in sync with your partner that neither ever manages to score. She has seen it as a spectator several times, the Kaidonovskys, Sensei and Hansen-san, and most recently Chuck and Raleigh. It always fascinates her how their fight is almost a dance, and how fast and precise both partners move. There's a beauty to the sparring of a perfect match that always makes goosebumps spread all over her skin. It's almost magical.

That train of thought brings her back to the actual reason she came to the kwoon. She decides that now is as good a time as any other, and she opts for the direct approach. Beating around the bush never worked well with Chuck. "Why are you not with Raleigh?"

Chuck doesn't reply, instead he doubles his effort to beat her. His blows are less precise than they were before, which tells Mako loud and clear that she hit a nerve. Things are really as bad as she expected, then. "Chuck-kun, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? He shut me out, that's wrong!" Chuck explodes and goes for her weaker left side. "The bastard cut off our ghost drift!"

"He did _what_?" Mako is so surprised at hearing this that Chuck actually manages to score a point. He stops his hanbō just a centimetre short of the side of her neck, a blow that would have ended a real fight once and for all, especially considering the force behind Chuck's blow. It's a testament to his skill that he's able to stop the hit at any moment without the slightest effort. 

"Two-two. When I told him about Yancy, he threw up quite impressive mental shields." Chuck retreats and takes up position again. His voice is seemingly casual, but Mako hears the frustration underneath the calm veneer. "I almost can't feel him at all. I can tell you that he's alive, but that's about it."

For a moment Mako is incredibly angry with Raleigh for doing that, especially considering that she knows what it did to Chuck when he lost the connection to Raleigh the last time. When Raleigh died, even if it was temporary. Mako wonders if a good deal of Chuck's anger is a manifestation of fear, because he feels like he did on that escape pod in the middle of the ocean - hurt and desperate and utterly helpless. Just that back then, it wasn't Raleigh's fault. 

Now it is.

Mako mirrors Chuck's position and makes a point of holding his gaze. "Have you talked to him?"

Chuck just snorts. "Yeah, sure, as if that's going to do any good. He basically kicked me out of his room and hasn't made any attempt to talk to me since. I'm not stupid, I get the message. If he wants to be left alone, fine! I'm not going to chase him!"

He jumps forward and aims for her head. Mako blocks it, but it's just the beginning of a quick succession of attacks. His pent up anger makes him sloppy, though, just as it always did, and Mako uses that to go for his left leg. She executes a one-handed version of the move that brought down Raleigh in their trial, and it works on Chuck just as well. Sensei taught her a few nice tricks.

"You have to talk to him, Chuck-kun." Mako doesn't ease off when she has Chuck on his back underneath her, instead she keeps his leg in a tight lock to force him to listen to her, never mind that the grip hurts terribly in her broken collarbone. "He's hurting, and he's lost and shaken. You know how much of a sore spot Yancy is for him. It's no excuse for cutting you off, but I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you. You have to talk to him."

"No." Chuck averts his gaze, a frown on his face. Mako can almost feel how hurt, fear, stubbornness and pride fuse together into a tight knot in Chuck's chest. "He knows where to find me. He kicked me out, so he if he wants something, _he_ can come to _me_."

"Chuck-kun, this is not the time to hold a grudge." Mako has to fight the urge to shake him until he's thinking clearly again. She lets go of his leg, but Chuck makes no move to get up. "Raleigh needs you."

"He made it pretty clear that he doesn't." Chuck glares at her, but she knows it's not actually directed at her. She can hear underneath the anger how much Raleigh shutting him out hurt him, and she's sure it's hitting all the wrong cords. His fear of rejection, of losing those he loves, of being alone again, of failing another person he cares for. And yet he won't do what it takes to keep what he wants. Mako mentally sighs and wonders how she can get him to see reason and to swallow his pride for once.

"Chuck-kun-"

"Leave it, Mako." Chuck pushes her off, gets up and throws the hanbō back on the rack before he leaves the kwoon in an angry stride. Mako stares after him and catches his left hand passing over the bandage on his right arm. He's not rubbing as if to ease fresh pain or an itch, instead the touch is light and almost reverent. It's an unconscious gesture, and Mako can't help noticing it. It says so much more than any words. She knows what's under the bandage, and what it stands for. She knows that Raleigh has the exact same pattern on his own arm. Mako sighs for real, loud and full of frustration, and gets up off the mats just as Chuck rounds the corner and disappears from view. 

Stubborn idiot.

She returns her own hanbō to the rack and straightens Chuck's that is almost falling off, then she walks over to the bench where she left her shoes and the water bottle. She drinks half of the water, then she puts on her boots and leaves the kwoon. Chuck is one of the most frustrating people she has ever met. At least she knows now what made him run. Well, if Chuck won't see reason, she'll go after Raleigh. She knows Chuck is hurt and feels rejected, he won't make the first step to make things right. Maybe Raleigh will, especially considering that it's partly his fault that Chuck ran in the first place.

Mako grabs a quick shower and changes into fresh clothes. She can't help being worried about Chuck, so she contacts Tendo-san who lets her know that Chuck seems to be in the quarters he shares with his father. At least he didn't run off or did something stupid like getting into a fight with somebody. She should probably be grateful for that, she played a part in making him even more upset, after all.

When Mako gets to the med bay some five minutes later, Raleigh is not there. The bed is unmade, the sheets rumpled and the pillow still shows the imprint of Raleigh's head. She knows he wasn't released yet, and she's sure he's not supposed to wander off on his own. Mako can't say that she's surprised, though, in light of the recent development with Yancy and the ensuing conflict with Chuck. 

She finds Raleigh where she expects him to be. He's sitting on the platform overlooking the Jaeger bay, the one where she sat with him after their first drift gone wrong, watching the maintenance works of Gipsy. Now the bay is empty, and it's a stark reminder of how much things have changed.

Raleigh is hunched over, his legs dangling from the platform, and his inner turmoil is radiating off him in waves. Mako knows that if she still shared even a flicker of a ghost drift with him, she'd probably be almost overwhelmed by the intensity of his pain right now. In that moment she wonders if maybe Raleigh cut Chuck off to protect him, because as a perfect match the connection has to be even stronger. Maybe he didn't want to overwhelm Chuck with all of his inner chaos before he had a chance to sort through it on his own first.

Mako approaches carefully, making sure that Raleigh hears her, before she sits down on the platform next to him. For a full minute Raleigh doesn't react at all to her presence, he's still staring into nothingness, lost in a world of pain, regret and fear. Mako knows exactly what he's feeling because she has been there, in his memories, she experienced them, knows what the loss of Yancy did to Raleigh. 

She's generally not a very physical person, but she knows that Raleigh is, so Mako skirts closer until she's pressed against his side, then she wraps an arm around his shoulders. It's as if the tension suddenly leaves Raleigh's body and he sags down, resting his head on her shoulder. He doesn't say a word, and neither does Mako. She's just there, because that's what he needs right now, a shoulder to lean against while he's down. 

The silence in the Jaeger bay is almost absolute. Since Operation Pitfall, there's no need for the bay anymore, and it still feels wrong to see it so devoid of its usual activity. Mako does nothing to break the silence. It's not uncomfortable, and she knows that Raleigh will talk whenever he's ready. 

It's almost ten minutes before Raleigh says something, and his voice is rough and breaking around the edges. He doesn't raise his head, and his words are so quiet that Mako almost doesn't hear them. "I tried to talk to him. Yancy, you know." 

There's a moment of silence, then he continues. "I've done it many times. In Alaska, in the hospital after they found me. When I was working on the Wall. I never thought he'd really hear me, though." 

He falls silent again, as if he has to order his thoughts. "And now I learn that he did, always did, but I never knew. And I still don't really know. I can't feel him. I can't hear him. I never could."

Frustration and betrayal are colouring his words, and Mako bites her lip. He's not done yet, and she won't interrupt him. Yet she feels his pain, wishes she could do something to make it better.

"Chuck talked to him. I know that he's saying the truth, I could feel it over the ghost drift." Raleigh raises his head and looks at her, and there are unshed tears glistering in his eyes, tears of pain, of hurt, of anger and frustration. "Why can he talk to Yancy and I can't? If Yancy is in my mind, shouldn't I be able to communicate with him? Somehow?"

Mako has been waiting for that question the entire time. She has an answer for him, even if it may not be satisfying. She makes sure to catch his gaze, willing him to understand. "It's not specific to Chuck, Raleigh. If I were to drift with you while you're unconscious, I could talk to Yancy too. It's a twist in how the drift works, and it's something we just learned about yesterday."

Raleigh doesn't look entirely convinced, and Mako decides to push a bit more. "Hansen-san is drifting with Sensei at the moment, same as you and Chuck did yesterday. I was there this morning when they initiated the drift, and I spoke with Dr Lightcap and Dr Geiszler. It seems to be the fact that you're unconscious that makes it possible for Yancy to communicate. It doesn't matter who your drift partner is."

Raleigh is quiet for a long time. "Will I ever be able to talk to him?"

"I don't know, Raleigh." It pains Mako to say that, but she won't lie to him. "It's a situation that hasn't come up before. But you have Dr Lightcap, Dr Geiszler and Dr Gottlieb working on it, some of the best minds and leading experts in the field. You never know what they come up with. I think you should not give up hope just yet."

Raleigh nods after a moment of thinking about what she said, then he lets his head fall back to Mako's shoulder. "I just want to see him again. I want that so badly."

Mako gently pulls him closer. "I know."

"The way he..." Raleigh doesn't finish the sentence, just like he never does, Mako has noticed. He never says that Yancy died, as if he just can't manage to form those words. He thinks them, she knows that from their drifts, but he never says them. "It came so suddenly, and there's so much I never told him... I know he knows it all, that's what drifting it for, after all, but still..."

Raleigh falls silent again, but Mako knows he's not done yet. He's been going over all those things in his mind for the past day, and now he needs to say them. The best thing she can do for him right now is to just be there and listen.

"Chuck said that Yancy sees what I see, knows what I know. I tried to imagine if our roles were inverse, what it would be like to be stuck inside his head, to have to watch him suffer without being able to do a thing. Without the chance of letting him know that I'm still there." Against her shoulder, Mako feels Raleigh grit his teeth. "It sound a lot like torture. And I'm the one doing it to him."

A shiver runs down Mako's back. She never looked at it like that, and she knows it's important to get that twisted notion out of Raleigh's head that he's hurting Yancy on purpose. She turns and takes hold of his face, forcing him to look at her. "That is not true, Raleigh. You had no influence whatsoever on what happened. You did not know that Yancy was there, you can't take the blame for something that is not your fault."

Raleigh's lips are pressed into a thin line, and there's a frown on his face. He's not believing it, he still blames himself. Mako decides that it's time to haul out the big guns, she can't let that misconception stand. "I may only know Yancy from your memories, Raleigh, but I'm sure he would personally kick you in the head for thinking that."

Raleigh swallows hard, and that tells Mako that her words have at least some effect. Good.

"I just really miss him. Still. Even after five years." Raleigh's words are laden with hurt and guilt. "And I can't help feeling betrayed that Chuck got to talk to Yancy, got to see him, and I didn't. Especially considering that it all took place in my own mind and I don't remember anything."

It's then that Mako realises that Raleigh probably has no idea what he did to Chuck. "Raleigh, are you aware that you are blocking the ghost drift for Chuck?"

Raleigh just looks confused. He quite obviously didn't know. "What?"

It pains Mako to think how much those two manage to hurt each other without even being aware of what they're doing, especially considering that they're already sharing something as intense as a perfect match connection. "You threw up your mental shields when Chuck told you about Yancy. You effectively cut off the ghost drift for him. He told me that he almost can't feel you at all."

Raleigh still looks confused. Mako guesses that he hasn't even realised, he was too busy drowning in his own pain to notice anything else. Mako decides not to say anything else on the matter, instead she will let Raleigh come to the necessary realisation himself. With a bit of help.

"I have got something for you. For your collection." Mako reaches into the breast pocket of her J-Tech overall, feels the smooth surface of the paper underneath her fingers and slowly pulls it out. She doesn't need to look at the photo to know what it depicts, she has memorised it already. 

It shows the room in the med bay that Raleigh is staying in, and there's actually sunlight filtering through the skylight, bathing the bed in a warm glow. Raleigh is lying under the sheets, obviously asleep, but there are no tubes attached to him anymore. Chuck is lying next to him, his bandaged right arm wrapped around Raleigh's waist and his legs entangled with Raleigh's. His head is resting on Raleigh's shoulder, his nose nuzzled against his neck, and there's a little smile on his lips. Raleigh's hand is buried in Chuck's messy ginger hair, and it almost seems like Chuck is leaning into the touch. He's clearly asleep as well, and he looks incredibly comfortable and at peace. 

Mako took that picture just early yesterday morning, and she loves it. It's a moment caught on film, just like that picture of Sensei and Hansen-san on the beach that Tamsin-san took years ago. Chuck and Raleigh are her family, and she likes to have happy moments of her family to look at. They never fail to make her smile.

"What's that?" Raleigh asks as he accepts the picture. He freezes when he looks at it, staring with an expression of surprise that slowly turns into understanding and then shock. Mako watches him, glad to see that he gets what she's trying to tell him.

"Mako..." Raleigh is biting his bottom lip, and she can tell that he understands. "Oh god, what did I do?"

Mako just smiles at him and gently nudges his shoulder. "He's in his quarters."

Raleigh hesitates only for the fraction of a second, then he gets up, slower than he usually would. It's a tribute to his injuries still interfering with his ability to move. He's pointedly avoiding to put any strain on his left arm or shoulder, holding onto the railing with the right instead. He's reasonably steady, but Mako knows he's still a long way from being back to one hundred percent. She doesn't like seeing him like this. It doesn't seem right that he's suffering like that, no matter that he hasn't complained once.

When he's standing next to her, Raleigh touches her uninjured right shoulder and gives a gentle squeeze. "Thank you, Mako."

Mako inclines her head and smiles. Then she turns serious, it's probably a good idea to give him a fair warning about Chuck's condition. "He's pretty hurt, Raleigh. You might have to take a blow or two before he's willing to let you close again."

Raleigh's mouth presses into a tight line and he nods slowly. She can tell he's feeling guilty, and that he blames himself for hurting Chuck, no matter that it wasn't on purpose. Maybe they'll both learn something from all of this, Mako thinks. She can't be always there to sort out their misunderstandings, after all. How two people in a perfect match connection manage to have such misunderstandings at all is beyond her.

"I guess I deserve a blow or two." Raleigh's lopsided smile looks guilty and pained above anything else. "I know about the last time our connection was cut off, after all, and what it did to him." 

Mako raises an eyebrow and gives him a pointed look. "Don't do it again, then."

He nods, and there's determination in the gesture. Maybe he already did learn something. "I won't."

Mako watches him as he walks down the staircase to the ground level, then he crosses the Jaeger bay and disappears through the massive double doors. Mako leans back until she's lying on the platform, staring up at the high ceiling of the Jaeger bay. Her collarbone hurts distinctly after her fighting session with Chuck, but she's sure it was worth it. She takes a deep breath and lets it escape slowly, concentrating on letting go of the pain. 

Hopefully Chuck won't make it too difficult for Raleigh. He's not in the best place right now, and what he really needs is Chuck's support. At least Raleigh knows what went wrong, what _he_ did wrong, and she's certain he'll do whatever it takes to make Chuck see how sorry he is.

She sighs. Those two are a real piece of work. 

After a minute or two of slow breathing, Mako feels the pain ease enough that she's ready to get going again. She gets up, straightens her overall and quickly passes a hand through her hair. Time to get back to work and see to her many duties. She has mini-Jaegers to design and a new Mark series to develop, after all, and if she wants to see this bay return to life again, she'll better get started.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you didn't drown in all the angst and drama... Let me know if you're still alive ? XD


End file.
